Car-coupling



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1.

M. KAY.

GAR COUPLING.

j Patented June 22, 1886.

I ATTOR/VE;

2 Sheets-Sheet 2. M. KAY.

GAR COUPLING.

(No Model.)

,5 Patented June 22, 1886.

| I K y ug y (lull 111 111111111 declare that the UNITED STATES PATENTQFFICEQ MOSES KAY, OF ROSEDALE, KANSAS.

CAR-COUPLING.

$PECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 344,280, dated June 22,1886.

Application filed February 15, 1886.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MOSES county of Wyandotte and State of Kansas,

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Couplings; andIdo hereby following is a full, clear, and

of the invention, which will exact description enable others skilled inthe art to which it appertains to make being had to the accompanyingdrawings,forn1- ing a part ofthis specification.

My invention has for its object a car-coupling which will automaticallyself-couple and eject the shackle, and wherein the saidshackle may beretained in the draw-bar in ahorizontal position, and in readiness tocouple with an opposite draw-bar without unnecessary weightappliedthereto to effect a leverage, and

also to accomplish the successful elevation of the coupling-pin when thecars to which the draw-bar is attached are in motion and the greateststrain is brought to bear upon said coupling-pin; and it consists in thenovel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described,and specifically pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in perspective, showing the improveddraw-bar attached to the body of a car, and showing the means foroperating the coupling devices from the side of the car. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal sectional view of the draw-bar detached from the car, andshowing the shackle in a coupled position in the draw-bar. Fig. 3 is asimilar view of the draw-bar as seen in Fig. 2, and showing the positionof the coupling-pin and the automatic devices after the said shackle hasbeen ejected from said draw-bar. Fig. 4 is a front view of the thetransverse perforation therein for the reception of the elevating-lever.Fig. 5 is a side view of the coupling-pin, as seen in Fig. 4. Fig. 6 isa plan view of theindependent lever for operating the elevating-lever,and showing the hand-lever on either side of the car.

In the construction of my inventionIma-ke the drawbar A of the usuallength, and with the inclined opening a and longitudinal opening a,which extends through the draw-bar,

and to a certain distance admits the shackle. Near the outer end, andvertically through the draw-bar, I make a rectangular opening, a,

KAY, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rosedale, in the anduse the same, reference coupling-pin, showing Serial No. 191,941. (Nomodel.)

which receives the coupling-pin B and inter sects with the longitudinalopening a, near the inclined opening a. In a vertical relation the headof the draw-bar is made of increased thickness aportion of its length,inclining from the buffer to the draw-bar, as A, and above thelongitudinal opening a in the draw-bar A is made a longitudinal slot, aextending into the upper part, A, of the draw-bar, and separated fromthe longitudinal opening A below by horizontal division seat or portiona of the draw-bar. The said slot a extends from the vertical opening ain rearward direction and opens toward and beneath the car, and underthe portion A said draw-bar is made of a suitable length and width topermit the operation of a lever therein, and the upper portion inclinesin a downward relation or toward the draw-bar, the opening near the saiddraw-bar being considerably smallerin a vertical direction.

In the construction of my improved coupling-pin B, I make said pinflattened its entire length, and the upper portion, 1), of said shackleof an increased width to its lower portion, I), so as to extend with therectangular vertical opening a in the draw-bar, in which constructionare formed the shoulders I) b on opposite sides of the said bar, whichshoulders rest upon the divisional portion or seat a within thedraw-bar. The lower or narrow portion, b, of the said pin extendsthrough the said divisional portion or seat Win a transverse relation tothe longitudinal opening a in the draw-bar and couples the shackle, thevertical opening a at the point a as it passes through said divisionalportion a, being made similar in dimensions to receive the lower end, b,of the coupling-pin B, which is of corresponding size and made to fittherein without binding.

A slight distance above the shoulders I) 2 in the coupling-pin B, and ina transverse relation to and through said pin, I make the perforation b,the outer side of which perforation is curved, as at b" b", and onopposite sides of the said pin B. The upper end of the coupling-pin B,which projects above the draw-bar A, I provide with a perforation, bthrough which is passed one link of a chain, H, and the coupling-pin isdrawn upward and out of the draw-bar from the top of the car by means ofthe hand and foot lever I. I then that engaging with the coupling-pin Bbeing make an elevatinglever of a sufficient length l to enter theperforations b in the couplingpin B and extend in a longitudinaldirection of the draw-bar through slot a and in rear beyond the portionA of the draw-bar to give the requisite leverage, the end opposite toexposed and extending along the upper portion of said draw-bar which isbeneath the body of the car, and between which a sufficient height isafforded to operate said lever. The elevating-lever O is bent upwardlyat its'center or midway its length, and the opposite ends, 0 c inclinedat an obtuse angle therefrom in opposite directions. The saidelevating-lever C is inserted in the slot a in such a manner that whenthe shoulders I) b of said pin B are resting upon the divisional portionor seat a, and one end of the lever O inserted in the perforation I) incoupling-pin B, the opposite end of said lever O is elevated. The saidlever O is secured in the slot a by means of a bolt, 0, which passestransversely through the draw-bar, and through the central point of saidlever midway its length, the end of the lever engaging with thecoupling-pin and the point of fulcrum of said lever being slightly abovethe divisional portion a of the drawbar. Toward the end of the draw-barA, which extends beneath the car and is in a suitable distance in rearof the end of lever 0, extending in the same direction, is arranged aperforated bolt-,D. A perforation, a, is made vertically through thedraw-bar to receive the lower end, d of bolt D, the upper portion, 11,of which bolt is made of increased thicknesses, and provided withshoulders b b, which limit its extension through said perforation. Thesaid lower end, d of bolt D, extendsaslight distance within atransverseslot, d and a pin, 01, prevents the accidental removal of said bolt. Theportion d of bolt D extends upwardly from the draw-bar a sufficientdistance, and is perforated at d transversely and near the top of saidbolt. I then make a rod, E, to extend a slight distance beyond theopposite sides of the draw-bar, as seen in Fig. 1, and through theperforation d in the bolt D, and rotates freely therein. On either sideof the bolt D, and in the rod E, I make the transverse perforations e e.The independent lever F is a rod or bar bent at right angles, orU-shaped, the opposite ends of which are inserted in the perforations ee in the rod E, and on opposite sides of the bolt D, the saidindependent lever projecting toward' the front of the draw-bar so far asto rest upon the end 0 of the lever C, so that as the said independentlever F is actuated by the rod E the end 0 of. said lever O is thrown ina downyvard direction toward the draw-bar and the opposite end elevated,and with it the coupling-pin B.

In the longitudinal opening a of the drawbar A, I place the self-actingejecting-plunger G, which is made in length to extend from thecovering-point of the opening a with the longitudinal opening a in thedraw-bar a distance slightly exceeding that described between the frontpart of the draw-bar and its portion A. The plunger G is made with ahead, which exactly fits the opening a in the draw-bar, and a stem, 9,of reduced size from the said head. I then make a longitudinaltransverse slot, g through the plunger G, at the end opposite to thathaving the head 9, and through the end of stem which limits the lateralplay of said plunger. In the slot or is cast a transverse partition, a,which is perforated in the longitudinal direction of the slot a, as at aand of the proper size to receive the stem 9 of the plungerG. I thenmake a vertical-perforation, a, which passes through the draw-bar A, andthrough the transverse partition a, and of the proper size to receivethe bolt 9 Around the stem 9, I fit a spiral spring, 9 one end of whichcomes in contact with the head g of plunger G. The plunger G is theninserted in the slot (1 of the draw-bar with the head 9 toward theopening a in said draw-bar, and pushed so far rearwardly that the slot 9in the stem is directly opposite the vertical perforation of. In thedraw-bar and the end of the spring 9 which is opposite to that bearingagainst the head 9, bearing against the partition through which the stem9 passes, the bolt 9 having a head, 9, is then inserted through theperforation a in the drawbar, and through the slot g in the plunger G,the port-ion of the perforation a? in the top of the draw-bar beingreamed out to permit the head g of the slot 9" to remain flush with thesaid top of the draw-bar. The stem g of the plunger G is made of asufficient length to 'per- 'niit the extension of the head g of theplunger beneath the bolt B, and the bolt 9 in the slot 9 prevents theplay to this extent.

To limit the backward movement of the head 9 of the plunger G in theslot a of .the drawbar A so far as to produce the desired result, I casta shoulder, a, in the draw-bar A, which extends from the opposite sidesof the. longitudinal opening a a slight distance in rear of the saidhead 9 of the plunger G, so that the shackle 'M, the opposite ends ofwhich are provided with interior vertical fiat surfaces, m, may beinserted and force the head 9 of the IIO said plunger against saidshoulder a, thus permitting the pin B to drop in place and couple theshackle, and also enabling the tension of the spring to be exertedagainst the head 9 of the plunger, to keep the shackle from to-and-fromovement and the shackle in a horizontal position.

To operate the lever E from the side of the car K, I employ a lever, L,with a hook, e upon one end, which hook is passed through a perforation,e, in one end of the rod E, by which arrangement I make a free joint, soas the draw-bar A is moved to and fro under the car the lever Laccommodates this action. Upon the side of the car K is secured, in anysuitable manner, a lug, l, perforated at P, the perforated end of whichdepends below the 7 thehandle Z.

forcing said plunger rearwardly, and, when nearly to the shoulder formedin the longibar provided with its shackle, and without the lower sill ofthe car, through which is passed I the opposite end of the lever L, andthe said end bent downwardly at rightangles, forming Upon thetop of thecar I provide a combined hand and foot lever, I t", made in one piece,the said foot-lever 1" extending horizontally over the end of the carand connected at one end to the chain attached to the coupling-pin, andthe hand-lever I extending in a vertical relation therefrom.

In the operation of my improved coupling devices the shackle is insertedin the drawhead against the head of the plunger, thereby tudinal openinga in the draw-bar the coupling-pin falls into the vertical opening inthe draw-head made therefor, and secures the shackle. Vhen it is desiredto eject the shackle, the hand-lever at side of the car is thrown in arearward direction, which brings the independent lever down upon the endof the elevating-lever in contact with the coupling-pin, which elevatessaid pin and releases the shackle. The plunger then acts to throw theshackle out of the draw-bar, and as soon as the said shackle is ejectedfrom the drawbar the head of the plunger is carried by the spring uponits stem across the vertical 0pen ing made to secure the coupling-pin,and thus intercepting the fall of the said pin until the shackle hasbeen replaced in the draw-bar or the car is coupled with an opposite carhaving a shackle in its draw-head. By means of the combined foot andhand lever on the top of the car, the hand-lever being attached to thefootlever near the fulcrum of said foot-lever, the chain attached tosaid foot-lever lifts the couplingpin from its vertical opening in thedrawbar, and thus releases the shackle, so that the levers on the top orside of the car have only to be given one relative downward or sidemovement, and the coupling devices are in readiness to couple with anopposite drawnecessity of fastening the levers at any point thehand-lever combined with the foot-lever affords the operator a support,and much greater leverage can be applied to lift the coupling-pin. Bymeans of the elevating-lever on the draw-bar I am enabled at all timesto lift the coupling-pin, especially when the strain is greatest uponthe said pin, and with more satisfactory results.

For the purpose of making the drawhead equally strong on the sides,wherethe metal is of the least thickness, I cast either a ring or flangesaround the outside draw-head, as found convenient.

In Fig. 1 I have shown the independent lever for operating theelevatinglever in one position, and with the handle attached to rod Edepending therefrom and at the side of the car, whereby the instantdisengagement of the coupling-pin is effected.

In Fig. 6 the handle is shown in a come spondinglyhorizontal plane withthe independent lever F, so that the said lever may be thrown entirelyover the bolt D, and rest upon the draw-bar in rear. In this manner theinstant reversal of the independent lever acts to throw down the end ofthe elevatinglever from the combined weight of said lever. Then theindependent lever F is thrown over the bolt D, away from lever G, theweight of the said lever F and the handle Z prevents in the movement ofthe car the accidental reversal of said lever in either direction.

Having fully described my invention, what I now claim asnew, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination,with the draw-bar provided with a longitudinalopening therein and a vertical perforation, of a coupling-pin providedwith a flat side toward said longitudinal opening, a shackle providedwith interior flattened ends, and a yielding ejecting device within saidlongitudinal opening in the drawbar, contacting with said shackle,whereby the shackleis kept in a horizontal position in the draw-head, asdescribed.

2. The combination,with the draw-bar provided with a longitudinalopening therein and a vertical perforation to receive the couplingpin,and a vertically-extended portion of said draw'bar provided with alongitudinal opening therein intersecting with said verticalperforation, of a conplingpin perforated midway its length, and with thesides of said perforation inclined, and a bent lever fulcrumcd midwayits length in said longitudinal opening, and having one end extendedinto said perforation in said coupling-pin, and an opposite free end ofsaid lever extending along the draw-bar, whereby an increased leverageis obtained, as described.

3. The combination,with the draw-bar provided with a longitudinalopening and a spring-actuated plunger therein, adapted to eject theshackle, and a vertical perforation to receive the coupling pin, of averticallyextended portion of said draw-bar, provided with alongitudinal slot, a coupling-pin having a central perforation arrangedin said vertical perforation, and having the sides of said perforationinclined, and a bent lever fulcrn med in said slot in saidvertically-extended portion, one end of which extends into theperforation in said pin, and the free end of said lever extending alongthe draw-bar, and a transverse lever arranged beneath the car andprovided with a bent lever at right angles thereto, and adapted tocontact with the free end of said lever, as described.

4. The combination, with the coupling-pin, of a chain or its equivalentattached at one end to said coupling-pin, and a combined foot and handlever pivotally attached to the top of the car and connected with theopposite end of said chain, as described.

MOSES KAY.

Vitnesses:

J. H. PRESTON, FRED. NV. PERKINS.

IIO

